The UCI first introduced a trial period for using disc brakes in the pro peloton at the end of the 2015 season, but suspended it following injuries to riders in the 2016 Paris-Roubaix that were alleged to have resulted from disc rotors.

Why disc brakes at all? The promised benefits are greater modulation and more power, especially in wet conditions, no fade on long descents, rims that don’t wear out, less maintenance and longer lasting brake pads.

On the other hand, disc brakes are currently heavier than rim brakes and there are some concerns about their impact on aerodynamics, although Giant, for example, claims that its new Propel Disc has less drag than its rim brake predecessor.

Canyon's lightweight Ultimate bike is dressed here with SRAM's new 12-speed eTap AXS components and DT Swiss ARC 1400 Dicut wheels. Although it's undeniably a big ticket item, comparatively you're getting a lot for your money here and the bike comes fully ready to race. It's stiff, fast and impressively light for a disc brake bike. A Canyon Ultimate paired with any high-end groupset and race wheels would be right near the top of our wishlist for an all-round race bike.

The Tarmac SL6 was the big noise for 2018, and shortly after the rim-braked version debuted a disc-braked bike was introduced, first with an S-Works only version but very soon more affordable models followed.

The range is spearheaded by the S-Works Tarmac Disc Sagan Collection LTD, just the thing for the Peter Sagan fan who wants a fast bike with modern brakes and who has ten grand burning a hole in their pocket.

Those of more modest means should check out the the Tarmac Disc Comp - Sagan Collection LTD (£3,100). The most affordable model is the Tarmac Disc Sport (£2,250), in men's and women's versions and sporting a Shimano 105 groupset.

The Rose X-Lite 6 Disc Ultegra Di2 is a quick, sharp-handling disc-brake bike that can thrill and excite as well as the best of them. And with Rose's custom direct-to-consumer business model, it's also excellent value.

Riding the X-Lite 6 Disc there's an immediate sense of sharpness right from the first pedal stroke. Instantly, you know that you're riding a precision tool. Steering is super-quick and direct, with only the lightest touch or lean required to influence the direction of travel. In fact, it takes a little getting used to if you're not accustomed to such quick responses.

It's lost none of the razor-sharp handling of the old X-Lite, yet there's definitely an added layer of composure at its core. Settle down on a climb and spin away, and the directness transforms into a stable platform. It's an incredibly involving ride on descents too. Leaving aside the proven excellence of disc brakes for a moment (the usual superlatives around power, modulation and all-weather performance apply), the frame responds instantly as you lean, carving a very direct line as you aim for your chosen apex.

We try not to focus too much on bike weight around these parts because it's really not as important as some people would have you believe, but it would be nuts to ignore it in this case. Lightweight claims a frameset weight of 1,175g and our built-up Urgestalt Disc weighed 6.7kg (14.7lb) without pedals. Stick some on and you're good to go and race up the Tourmalet in the Tour de France. We're pretty confident that makes the Urgestalt Disc the lightest disc brake-equipped bike we've ever reviewed on road.cc.

In use, the Lightweight Urgestalt Disc feels super-responsive when you put in extra effort, joining in energetically when you ask for a burst of speed to get away from the group or chase down someone with escape on their mind. The sharper the acceleration, the more you notice the lack of ballast.

The other time you notice it is on the steeper climbs. The Urgestalt Disc feels like it's working with you on the hills rather than reluctantly dragging itself up with an if-I-must attitude. Some bikes seem to be asking why we couldn't have gone around the side rather than going over the top, whereas this bike just gets cracking.

Trek added disc brake models to its lightweight Emonda lineup in 2018, the top level Emonda SLR Disc frame coming in at an astonishing claimed weight of just 665g. That’s still the lightest disc brake frame that we know of. The Emonda SLR Disc fork is 350g. For 2019 the range is significantly wider.

Complete bikes come stock with wide 28mm tyres although Trek says that you can fit wider tyres for gravel and even adventure riding.

The Emonda SLR Disc is available in nine models from the Emonda SLR Disc eTap at £9,300 to the SLR 6 Disc (Shimano Ultegra, £4,400).

The Emonda SL Disc frame is heavier at 1,149g. The SL 7 Disc, built up with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, is £4,500 while the SL 6 Disc with the mechanical version of Shimano Ultegra is £2,700.

Giant added disc brakes to its Propel aero road bikes for 2018, and claimed that the flagship model, the Propel Advanced SL Disc, had the highest stiffness-to-weight ratio of any bike in its class and a lower drag coefficient at a wider range of yaw angles than its non-disc-brake predecessor.

“This is because the location of traditional callipers (either in front or behind the fork crown/ legs) creates 'dirty' air,” says Giant. “Opening up the fork crown area (by placing the disc-brake callipers down at the hub) means that the air hitting the new disc-brake calliper has already been disrupted by the leading edge of the tyre/wheel. This effect is further enhanced by an asymmetric fork that helps smooth out airflow over the calliper.”

The 2019 range includes the Propel Advanced 2 Disc at a very reasonable £2,299 and the latest version of the flagship Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc at a rather steeper £8,999.

Giant says that the Propel Disc had a three year development phase involving its engineers, Team Sunweb pro racers and aerodynamics experts at the Aero Concept Engineering facility in Magny-Cours, France.

The range features aero wheelsets with different rim depths front and rear, the idea being to reduce drag without compromising control or power transmission; updated frame profiles; and a new combined aero handlebar and stem with internal cable routing.

3T’s Strada is a new disc-equipped road bike that’s built around wide tyres and a 1x (single chainring, no front derailleur) groupset. It has been developed by Cervelo founder Gerard Vroomen

The Strada uses tubes that are shaped to minimise drag, the down tube being designed to push air around a low-mounted bottle. The transitions at the key junctions (front wheel to down tube and from seat tube to rear wheel) have been reduced as much as possible, which is claimed to further reduce drag.

3T says that going with disc brakes allows it to make its Fundi fork stiffer and provide improved aerodynamics because the crown is closer to the front wheel.

Perhaps the biggest deviation from tradition with the new Strada is the elimination of the front derailleur. 3T reckons that a 1x system gives you all the gears you need with fewer components, lower weight and less drag. The pro teams 3T sponsors don't seems to be 100% convinced, though, so there's now a Strada Due with a front derailleur mount too.

Merida’s updated Reacto aero road bike is available in both disc brake and rim brake models.

Merida has slimmed down the Reacto’s tubes to improve aero efficiency, introduced a lower seatstay connection with the seat tube and added a one piece cockpit.

Merida also says that it has improved comfort through the redesigned seatstays and given its S-Flex seatpost a slimmer cross section and a bigger ‘window’ – the notch that’s cutaway to add more downward movement.

The disc brake Reactos come with cooler technology like Merida uses on its Sculturas. There’s a forged aluminium component between the brake and the frame/fork that’s designed to allow heat to dissipate through CNC-milled cooling fins. The idea is that this reduces the amount of heat that gets transferred to the carbon-fibre on long descents.

The CF4 version of the disc brake frame uses the RAT (Rapid Axle Technology) first introduced by Focus for quick wheel changes in race situations, while the CF2 version has threaded 12mm thru axles.

BMC claims a weight of just 815g for the Teammachine's carbon fibre disc brake frame, versus 790g for the rim brake version. The disc frameset has an asymmetric fork to cope with the braking forces.

BMC says that the Teammachine is stiffer, lighter and more compliant than before, but you’d probably have guessed that.

While the new frame bears a resemblance to the previous version, BMC has refined all the tube profiles to balance the stiffness and compliance. It says the bottom bracket area provides more stiffness while the compliance has also been improved for increased seated comfort, thanks in part to newly shaped seat stays creating a compact rear triangle.

Scott’s Foil Disc has a very similar frame to the existing rim brake model but the fork has been completely redesigned to manage the asymmetrical forces of disc brakes and to control the airflow around the front brake. Most notably, the lower sections of the fork come with aero tabs to smooth airflow over the calliper.

The Foil Disc uses 12mm thru axles front and rear. The front axle’s head is 25mm in diameter, the idea being that this larger than normal contact surface between the fork and axle is better able to handle the load coming from the front brake.

Pinarello has released a disc brake version of the bike Chris Froome rode to victory in this year’s to Tour de France, its Dogma F10.

The Dogma F10 Disk frame (don't ask us how it comes to be hovering in the picture) retains features of the rim brake model like flatback stays and a concave down tube that’s designed to shield a water bottle from the airflow. However, the disc version comes with thru axles front and rear, and the lower sections of the Onda F10 fork have ForkFlaps that are designed to improve aerodynamics around the front brake.

A thoroughbred race bike, the Dogma F10 Disk provides enough space for tyres only up to 25mm wide.

The CAAD12 is the latest in a long series of well-received aluminium bikes from Cannondale, lighter, stiffer and more comfortable than the CAAD10 and available with or without disc brakes.

Following the popular and likeable CAAD10 was always going to be a tough act, but Cannondale has succeeded not only in retaining the key qualities of the previous model but also improving the ride quality. It's nothing short of marvellous.

The CAAD12 is a finely honed bike with a level of comfort and refinement that makes you wonder why you would spend more. It's so smooth that it outshines many carbon fibre road bikes we've tested over the years.

Bianchi has unveiled both rim brake and disc brake versions of its Aria aero road bike. The Italian brand already has the Oltre aero road bikes in its range and has only recently launched the Oltre XR3, but the Aria represents a trickle down of Aquila time trial/ triathlon design in a much more affordable, and broader, application.

You get many tried and tested aero features including a seat tube that’s cutaway around the leading edge of the rear wheel, a deeply profiled down tube and a skinny head tube.

The carbon frame has been designed to be stiff through the use of oversized tube profiles and bottom bracket, and a tapered head tube. And it's a success. Stomp on the pedals and there's an intoxicating immediacy to the way it transfers your power that will have you attacking every rise and crest in the pursuit of more speed.

The latest version of Cervelo’s R5 is available in a disc brake format.

The R5 has been the brand’s lightest race-ready bike since it was launched in 2013. Where the S-series is focused on aerodynamics and the newer C-series on endurance comfort, the R-series has always been about being the light. Oh, and stiff. Cervelo says that the new R5 is considerably stiffer than the previous version at both the bottom bracket and head tube.

Colnago announced the rim brake version of its new V2-R in June 2017 and then we saw the disc brake version at Eurobike in August of that year.

The Concept is the full-on aero bike in Colnago’s range with the V2-R a lightweight all-rounder with some aero features.

The V2-R retains many of the features of the brand’s V1-R although Colnago claims that both the bottom bracket and headset stiffness have been increased.

Colnago has redesigned the top tube and head tube junction and revised the cable routing, the cables now entering a central port on the top of the down tube.

The V2-R uses the Hexlock thru-axle system that Colnago developed with suspension company Manitou. It's similar to the Focus Rapid Axle Technology in that you part twist the skewer into the opposing dropout before pushing close the lever. It speeds up wheel removal quite a bit.

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Mat has worked for loads of bike magazines over 20+ years, and been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. He's been road.cc technical editor for eight years, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a past winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer.

I can understand, that hiding cables on rim brake bikes is somehow a challenge. But, seeing disc bikes still with cables dangling outside a frame, I ask myself whether these guys are joking.

I guess you're not a mechanic then. Internal cable routing is bad enough to deal with, let alone elaborate cable routing that goes through the stem and head tube. When you're having to strip down half a dozen bikes & rebuildthem overnight (completely common for mechanics at races) then you will thank any designer who makes things as easy for you as possible

I've noticed that disc framesets are much more heavily discounted at the end of the year. And remain available in wide range of sizes. Clearly still not so much demand as for rim brake models...

Still very much the minority in terms of bikes I see around, but (again anecdotal evidence of my eyes only) they seem to bebecoming more popular. End of season deals last year on rim brake bikes were unusually good so I bet that meant that a lot of people who were looking to replace their bikes then opted for rim brakes to take advantage of the great deals. That probably slowed disc brake sales a bit. The big end of season discounts starting to come up on disc brake bikes will probably tempt more people to replace their outgoing steeds with disc equiped bikes this time round. Swings and roundabouts, but the net direction of travel seems to be inexorably towards discs.

I've noticed that disc framesets are much more heavily discounted at the end of the year. And remain available in wide range of sizes. Clearly still not so much demand as for rim brake models...

Still very much the minority in terms of bikes I see around, but (again anecdotal evidence of my eyes only) they seem to bebecoming more popular. End of season deals last year on rim brake bikes were unusually good so I bet that meant that a lot of people who were looking to replace their bikes then opted for rim brakes to take advantage of the great deals. That probably slowed disc brake sales a bit. The big end of season discounts starting to come up on disc brake bikes will probably tempt more people to replace their outgoing steeds with disc equiped bikes this time round. Swings and roundabouts, but the net direction of travel seems to be inexorably towards discs.

I've been doing a bit of research on disc of late and the tech is getting a lot lighter and much better looking, I think with Shimano bringing hydro braking into their series products (Ultegra and Dura Ace) it'll help a lot.. once people can order a full groupset with discs people will 'understand it more'. Also I think with CX almost all using discs now and the trend to gravel and adventure bikes, we'll see discs start to be the 'norm' soon enough... rim brakes are heading the way of canti's for road bikes I feel.

I'm not a huge fan, but I am considering a disc brake bike myself at the moment... I'm not quite sure why I'm considering it really.. but at the very least I shouldn't have to worry about fiddling with my rim brakes before every other ride (like I do now on my racy bike almost as a matter of course - minimum fuss really).. and I do think disc brakes improve the look of a bike a little.

After sailing through a few junctions in the Lake District on my old rim braked Moda, coming down 20% plus hills hard on the brakes in pouring rain and hands so numb they hurt from gripping the levers so hard, I love the discs on my new Roubaix and look forward to getting 32mm tyres for winter for even more grip.

We often buy our bikes for a bit of vanity, and why not? Some people buy art and put it on the wall and it does nada. Some of those bikes with race frames and slammed aero stems look awesome, but, for me, having something that stops me in awful weather is a beautiful thing!

A big problem with almost all of these frames, for me anyways, is that the front-centre distances are too short.

Standard tire size has grown from 23 mm to 28 mm, and rims have grown from 15 mm internal to 19 - 21 mm internal, which has pushed up the radius of the front tire by about 10 mm. But road geometries have not changed accordingly! The 2018 Cannondale Synapse and Trek Domane have good front-centre distances, but they are the exception.

A big problem with almost all of these frames, for me anyways, is that the front-centre distances are too short. Standard tire size has grown from 23 mm to 28 mm, and rims have grown from 15 mm internal to 19 - 21 mm internal, which has pushed up the radius of the front tire by about 10 mm. But road geometries have not changed accordingly! The 2018 Cannondale Synapse and Trek Domane have good front-centre distances, but they are the exception.

CAAD12 is a good exception. 30mm (measured) fits front and rear. CAAD10 is even better. It will accommodate 32mm.

I'll never run a rim brake bike again. There, I said it. I built an Argon 18 Gallium Disc at the start of the year and it's an unbelievable bike... don't know why it didn't make the list. Stops on a sixpence, especially on carbon wheels and in the wet vs rim brakes. Better braking and more parts for the brands to sell you makes me convinced that in 5yrs rim brake bikes will be confined to ebay...